Car coupler



Dec; 11, 1928.

W. KELSO CAR COUPLER Filed June 20, 1927 2 Skeete -Sheet 1 Dec. 11, 1928 Y Y 1,695,015

w. KELSO CAR COUPLER Filed Junev 20, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I/illlrllll IIIIIIIIIIII Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATS,

ATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM KELSO, OFPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MG'CONWAY' & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH; PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

Application filed June 20.,

This invention relates to car couplers and is especially directed to the provision of means for preventing accidental unlocking of the well known type D-coupler. The improvements herein described and claimed are however, not limited in their application to a coupler of that specific type but may advantageously be embodied inother forms of couplers whereinthe lock lifter is movably connected to. the lock and serves as a means for preventing accidental unlocking of the latter.

When cars designed for operation at moderate speed are placed in veryfast service parts of the coupler fittings, such as locking blocks and lifters, and also the uncoupling lever, are liable to be thrown or jarred upwardly. This is primarily due tothe fact that the car construction is unsuited to the track conditions encountered by fast running trains. As a result the possibility exists that some of the coupler elements may move with respect toothers so as to free the locking block for an unlocking movement. Should such accidental unlocking of the'coupler not be reliably prevented the train may break in. two when in motion.

The principal object of the invention is to provide highly efficient and reliable means for preventing accidental unlocking of the coupler locking block when the coupleris in service, the means provided being especially suited for embodiment in a coupler having a lock of the top operating'type, such as is extensively usedon freight cars.

The principal feature of the invention, generally stated, consists in employing'an upwardly extending l'ock' lifter which is, slidably and rotatably connected to the coupler lock and which at its lower end is adapted to cooperate with the coupler head toprovide means for preventing accidental unlocking of the lock, the lifter being actuated by an uncoupling lever which cooperates with a shoulderupon the coupler head to prevent the lifter from accidentally moving to a position corresponding to the unlocked positioniof the coupler lock, and the coupler head and lifter being designed to. cooperate with each other so as to cause the lifterto force the uncoupling lever into locking relation with the said shoulder of'the coupler head when the lifter accidentally moves toward unlocked position.

GAR COUPLER.

1927; Serial iaaaaeaa Other features of the invention, pertaining to advantageousstructural forms andrelations of parts, will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention,-

Figure 1 is a plan view of a car coupler and associated uncoupling mechanism. involving the invention, showingtheir relation to the adjacent portion of a railway car.

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the construction shown in Fig. 1. v

Figure 3 is a detail view of the construction, partly in side elevation and partly in. vertical section, the devices being in the positions they normally occupy when the coupler'is locked.

Figure 4 is a view corresponding: to Fig. 3 but showing the positions assumedby the parts when the lock lifter accidentally moves towards unlocked position while the coupler locking block is in locked position.

Tn the drawingsl indicates the. head of a car coupler upon which the knuckle 2is rotatably mounted by means of. a knuckle pin 3 in the usual manner. The knuckle is-normally prevented from performing an uncoupling rotation'by means of a lock 4 having a depending leg 5. which. projects down wardly through an opening 6 in the. lower wall of the coupler head. As is, customary inthe mechanism of the standard D type coupler, the lock 4h is provided on its forward face with a. h1g7 'which when the lock is raised to unlocked position engages a portion of the coupler head so as to cause thelock' to swing rearwardly and; effect knuckle opens ing rotation of the knuckle opener The knuckle opener is; preferably of the bell crank lever form commonly used in the D-typecoupler, one of its ends beingpositioned in. the pathof movement of the dependinglegti of. the lock and its other end extending behind the tail ofthe knuckle 2. i

The locking block 4 is fashioned with an upwardly and rearwardly'opening slot 9 for receiving the lower end of a lock lifter 10 which projects upwardly through an'opening in the upper wall'of the coupler head, the side walls of theslot being recessed, asat 11, vto receive and permit sliding and pivotal movement of: oppositely disposed trunnions 12 with; which the lock. lifter. is near itslower end. The sidewal s of the rovided slot 9 are preferably provided with shoulders 13 which cooperate with the trunnions 12 during the initial unlocking movement of the lifter, thus causing the lower end of the latter to execute a preliminary upward movement toward the lock down lug or projection 14: of the coupler head before said lower end may be withdrawn from beneath said lug. To effect the same purpose the lifter 10 is preferably fashioned at its lower end with a lug 15 which overlaps the rear face of the locking block 4 below the slot 9 when the parts are in locked position. Through its cooperation with the rear face of the lock this lug 15 likewise serves to compel the lower end of the lock lifter to move upward toward the lock down projection l l of the coupler head before it can be retracted into the slot 9. To cooperate with the loek-to-the-locl: projection 14, the lifter 10 is formed with an upwardly facing shoulder 16 which normally projects under the lock down lug 1 f, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon an accidental unlocking movement of the locking block the shoulder 16 engages the lug 14 of the coupler head and prevents further unlocking movement of the lock.

The shoulder 16 of the lifter is preferably spaced from the lower end of the lock down projection 14 a distance such that the parts will come into engagement before the trunnions 12 contact the inclined upper walls of the trunnion slots in the lock, the withdrawal of the lower end of the lifter into the slot 9 thus being effected without the necessity of overcoming friction between the trunnions and the top walls of the slots in which they are guide-d.

At its upper end the lifter 10 is formed with an opening or slot 17 through which the inner end 18 of a rotatable uncoupling lever extends, the slot preferably being of angular form consisting of a vertical branch 19 and an inclined branch 20. The uncoupling lever mechanism illustrated in the drawings is of a well known type in common use and comprises an inner lever member 21 and an outer lever member 22, said members being rotatably mounted on the car body by means of a pivot pin or stud 23 and the outer member when depressed being adapted to effect an uncoupling movement of the inner member.

Adjacent the opening in the top wall of the coupler head through which the lock lifter extends is an upwardly projecting lug 2 1 hav ing a forwardly extending portion providing a downwardly facing shoulder 25 adapted to cooperate with the inner end 18 of uncoupling lever to prevent the lifter 10 from accidentally executing an unlocking movement.

The contour of the forward edge of the lifter is such as to provide a face 26 which is adapted to cooperate with the front end wall 27 of the slot in the top of the coupler head through which the lock lifter extends, the construction being such that any accidental upward travel of the lifter with respect to the locking block which causes the lower end of the lifter to move from beneath the lock down shoulder 14: of the coupler head results in causing the upper end of the lifter to move rearward longitudinally of the coupler, thereby forcing the uncoupling rod or lever 18 rearwardly beneath the downwardly facing shoulder 25 of the coupler head, the parts then assuming the relation shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that in this position of the parts it is impossible for the uncoupling rod 18 to escape from beneath the downwardly facing shoulder 25, for because of its contact with the wall 27 at the forward end of the slot in the top of the coupler the lock lifter 10 cannot move forwardly. The operation of causing the coupler lock 4 to execute an unlocking movement is performed in the usual manner except that the operator when pressing the outer uncoupling lever member 22 downwardly should communicate to it a slight movement to the rear or toward the car body, thus causing the inner end 18 of the lever to move upwardly and forwardly so as to pass from beneath the downwardly facing shoulder 25 and occupy a position at the extreme upper end of the slot 17 in the lifter. The lifter is then free to be moved to lock-set position or to be raised to knuckle position as required. The uncoupling lever is, of course, pivotally mounted with suflicient lateral play to enable its inner end 18 to be shifted forwardly as described.

In advance of the lifter 10 the coupler head is formed on its upper side with an upwardly extending lug 28 which preferably is reinforced by laterally spaced rearwardly extending flanges or ribs 29, the front face of the lug 28 being substantially in alinement with the face of the coupler head. The guard lug 28 and bracing ribs 29 protect the lifter, uncoupling lever and the upwardly project ing lug member 2a against injury which. might occur should the car upon which they are mounted be attached to a car having plat form buffers such as are used on passenger cars. Should this protection not be provided the platform buffer of the adjacent car may possibly come into contact with the lifter when the cars are bunched and thus break or distort the lifter.

I claim 1. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, a lock for the knuckle, a lock lifter extending into the coupler head and movably connected to the lock, and means engaging the lifter outside of the coupler head for actuating said lifter, said lifter being adapted under the influence of gravity to move to a position in which it cooperates with said head to prevent the lock from accidentally moving to unlocked position, and said means extending transversely of the car on which the con pler is mounted and being adapted upon an accidental unlocking movement of the lifter lneans to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, and said lifter upon an accidental unlocking movement being adapted to rotate toward said downwardly facing shoulder so as to insure locking cooperation of said means with said downwardly facing shoulder.

3. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of. a knuckle pivotally mo unted thereon, a gravity actuated lock for the knuckle, a lock lifter movably connected to the lock, and an uncoupling lever for actuating the lifter, said head having within its interior a shoulder adapted to cooperate with said lifter to prevent the lock from accidentally moving to unlocked position, said lever being movable with respect to the lifter and projecting into an opening with which the, latter is provided, said head also being provided with a shoulder adapted to cooperate with the uncoupling lever to prevent the lifter from accidentally moving to unlocked position, and said lifter and coupler head being adapted to cooperate with each other so as to force said lever to a position beneath said last named shoulder when the lifter accid entally moves toward unlocked position. 4. In a car coupler, the combinatlon with a coupler head, of a knuckle pivotally mounted thereon, a gravity actuated lock for the knuckle, a lock lifter movably connected to the lock and projecting upwardly through an opening in the top wall of the coupler head,

and an uncoupling lever for actuating the lifter, said lifter being provided at its upper extends, said head being provided on its upper side with a downwardly facing shoulder adapted to cooperate wit-h the lever to prevent the lifter from accidentally moving to unlocked position, and the couplerhead being formed on its upper side in advance of the lifter with an upwardly extending guard lu 5. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knuckle rotatably mounted thereon, a'lock for the knuckle, a lock lifter slidably and rotatably connected to the lock and extending upwardly through an opening in the coupler head, and an uncoupling lever for actuating the lifter to cause it to perform an unlocking operation, said head having a shoulder adapted to be engaged by the lower end of the lifter to prevent accidental unlocking of the lock, said head also being provided adjacent the upper end of the lifter with a shoulder for cooperating with the lever to prevent the lifter from accidentally moving to a position permitting said lock to assume unlocked position, and

the upper end of said lifter being adapted to move longitudinally of the coupler so as to ensure engagement of the uncoupling lever and said last named shoulder when the lifter accidentally moves toward unlocked position. In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM KELSO.

end with an opening through which the lever 

